A series of short videos about Jesus as the unexpected Jewish Messiah, filmed on location in Israel.
Introduction
Most worldviews agree on at least one thing: the world is a broken place. Where they all diverge is their answer to “what or who will fix it?” For the Jews, their hope rested in a Messiah who would come and make all things new. When Jesus came 2,000 years ago, they were as ready as they’d ever been to be rescued, yet very few fully understood the role of the Messiah.This series will address the culture of Jesus’ day and how that shaped the expectations that the people had in regards to what the Messiah would say and do. Discover how Jesus lived like His fellow Jews in many ways, yet fulfilled the role of Messiah they were expecting in some very unexpected ways.
EPISODE 1: AWAITING THE PROMISED MESSIAH
Israel’s Golden Age was during the reign of King David. While he was king, Israel was victorious over her enemies, and God promised David that when he was gone, the Messiah would one day come from his lineage. But after his son Solomon’s rule, the kingdom was split, the people rebelled from God, and they were eventually destroyed by powerful nations.
As the great kingdoms came and went (Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and Greece), one thing stayed the same for Israel: they were subject to foreign rulers. When Rome ruled the world, Israel enjoyed some of the cultural advancements they brought, but still resented being subject to another nation. There was no better time for the Messiah to come and reestablish them as the great kingdom they once were.
EPISODE TWO: HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
The birth and childhood of Jesus can best be described as humble. While everyone was looking for the Messiah to be a great king-warrior, Jesus was born in the most humble of circumstances, grew up in an inconsequential part of Israel, and led a very quiet life until He was 30.
Rather than grow up in wealth and opportunity, or work His way through the levels of Jewish teaching to become a rabbi, Jesus was a carpenter like His dad Joseph. So, it’s no surprise that when He did start His ministry, many people wondered who this carpenter from Nazareth thought He was!
EPISODE THREE: RABBI OF ALL RABBIS
Although Jesus taught like many of the rabbis of His day, He was unlike any of them in His approach to Scripture and His interaction with others. The people were amazed at the authority of His teaching, but were also confused about how He got that authority.
Most of the religious leaders despised Jesus because he didn’t meet their expectations of either the Messiah or a great rabbi. He hadn’t gone through the normal system of schooling, His disciples were anything but the best and brightest, and He interacted with the outcasts of His day—something no Messiah or rabbi would do!
EPISODE FOUR: THE WILLING SACRIFICE
Confusion about Jesus led to a plot to stop Him. Time after time, those who opposed Him sought to silence Him, but when it became obvious that His popularity was only increasing, they sought to kill Him.
After killing John the Baptist, their sights were set on Jesus. By changing the opinions of the masses and with the help of one of Jesus’ own followers, they crucified Him during the Passover celebration. They had succeeded in stopping this movement… or so they thought.
CONCLUSION
After Jesus’ death, His followers were scared and confused. Had their beliefs that Jesus was the promised Messiah been false? With the leadership in Israel seeking to stop them as well, what hope did they have to further Jesus’ message now that He was gone?
Although Jesus’ life had been unpredictable and hard to understand, the disciples soon learned that His death was necessary and had been predicted throughout the Old Testament. This unexpected Messiah had accomplished just what God had planned before the creation of the world!